Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

Jigen floated slowly from the air to Madara Uchiha's side, his body shrouded in a mysterious aura, his deep eyes carrying a hint of anger.

He'd painstakingly nurtured a few promising talents, only to have most of them destroyed by Madara Uchiha in the blink of an eye. If he didn't teach this Kaguya descendant a lesson, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep soundly tonight.

"I am."

"You little rascal!"

"???"

Before Jigen could launch into a grand self-introduction, Madara Uchiha, who had been frowning, suddenly brightened up, raised his shipbreaker high, and his face was filled with surprise.

"You're the one who seduced that hot mom from Hasi! Hand her over right now!"

Having shared information with Tobirama Senju, Madara Uchiha vividly remembered Jigen, a prime suspect in a major crime, and had long ago imprinted the man's distinctive features in his mind.

Now that the suspect has actually shown up on his own initiative, how could he not be excited?

"vulgar."

Interrupted, Jigen looked displeased and did not immediately respond to Madara Uchiha's question. Instead, he turned his head and nodded slightly to Clone Number Nine.

"Hurry up and go."

"yes!"

Number Nine nodded hurriedly and, without the slightest hesitation, flew away, running towards Tobirama Senju's direction.

"Damn it! Do you think I'm invisible?"

Seeing that Jigen was treating him like he didn't exist, Madara Uchiha was instantly enraged. He kicked off with both legs and disappeared into the distance in a blur.

"Whoosh!"

With the added benefit of his physical body, Madara Uchiha successfully entered high-speed movement mode.

In the blink of an eye, he had already flashed to Cixian's side, his arm muscles bulging high, and he brought down the black axe in his hand with a fierce slash. The blade, gleaming with a chilling light, still bore traces of undried blood.

"ignorance."

Facing the fierce gale, Cixian's face showed a faint mockery. Just as the great axe was about to fall on his head, a black glint flashed in his eyes.

"boom!!!"

The giant axe fell, cleaving a terrifying, bottomless wound where Jigen stood. However, Madara Uchiha, sensing something amiss, frowned first, his crimson eyes filled with confusion.

The attack failed.

His Sharingan had never been closed for a moment, but he still couldn't see how Jigen had dodged his fierce attack.

"Whoosh~"

Just as he frowned in thought, several dark figures shot towards him from behind. Madara Uchiha sensed this and immediately raised the blade of his Black Cleaver to defend himself.

"Bang! Bang bang!"

A piercing metallic clang rang out, and Madara Uchiha was forced back by the unknown attack, his arm holding the Black Cleaver feeling slightly numb.

Looking down, they saw that the seemingly indestructible axe surface had been chipped with tiny cracks, and the culprit behind it all was actually a few seemingly ordinary short black clubs.

"Whoosh~"

Before Madara Uchiha could react, the black rod that had fallen to the ground seemed to come alive, floating up on its own and eventually landing back in Jigen's hand, which had appeared out of nowhere.

"How did you dodge my attack?"

This time, Madara Uchiha refrained from making any rash moves. His wary gaze held a hint of doubt. The opponent's elusive abilities were too unfathomable; even the Sharingan, which was said to be able to see through everything, couldn't break through them.

"Innocent."

Ci Xian still didn't reply, instead focusing on combining the short sticks in his hand. The black sticks rapidly merged, eventually becoming a long black rod. He skillfully twirled it a few times, then gave a faint, mocking remark.

"Hey, look at my temper!"

Madara Uchiha had never been provoked like this before. He immediately swung his shipbreaker and used the same tactic again, the fierce attack almost tearing space apart.

But the result was a huge disappointment to him. Every time he attacked, the strange monk in front of him would magically disappear for a moment, and then suddenly reappear, whipping him with the long black staff in his hand.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

Although Madara Uchiha's physical strength was currently extraordinary, and ordinary attacks could not harm him at all, the black staff in the monk's hand was different; each strike caused considerable damage to him.

It wasn't just the pain that assaulted him, but also the strange ability to affect the flow of his chakra.

"Space-time ninjutsu?"

Once again repelled by the black rods, Madara Uchiha refrained from attacking rashly. His opponent's fighting style gave him a sense of déjà vu, bearing a striking resemblance to the techniques of a certain white-haired character.

"Just like a fly."

Just as Madara Uchiha was making his sarcastic remark, Jigen lowered his eyelids and glanced subtly at his slightly trembling hands, a hint of shock in his eyes.

What's wrong with this human? He's even more resilient than that guy Kim.

He had originally planned to take down Madara Uchiha in a few moves and then go back to enjoy his red wine, but he didn't expect that his attack, which he made in conjunction with Bikona Sumina, was basically ineffective. His chakra rods were smoking, but he couldn't even break through the opponent's defense.

"Since that's the case..."

Jigen's gaze sharpened. His current power was indeed insufficient. If he wanted to quickly defeat Uchiha Madara, he would have to activate the Karma form.

With this in mind, Jigen didn't hesitate and immediately activated his Karma form. The black mark on his chin quickly spread throughout his body, successfully activating the Otsutsuki's primal power.

"State 1".

"That is?"

Madara Uchiha watched Jigen, who had entered state one, with suspicion. From the perspective of his Sharingan, the power within Jigen's body seemed to increase exponentially, approaching a level that could threaten him.

"Whoosh!"

Adhering to the principle of striking first, Madara Uchiha seized the opportunity when Jigen transformed, and the Shipbreaker in his hand crashed down.

Does having tattoos make you so great?

My older cousin can do it too!

"Bang!"

Unfortunately, this attack was easily blocked by Jigen, who raised the chakra rod with one hand.

"How is that possible?!"

Sensing Jigen's overwhelming strength, Madara Uchiha stared in disbelief at the slowly rising shipbreaker.

"Go back!"

After a brief moment of stunned disbelief, he immediately channeled his inner strength into his arms, which slowed down the opponent's lifting progress.

Jigen frowned slightly. He hadn't expected Madara Uchiha to still have some strength left. In that case, he would have to finish him off in one fell swoop.

"State Two".

The terrifying force below intensified once again, causing Madara Uchiha's hands to tremble uncontrollably. Just who was this monk? His power was so immense; he was definitely no ordinary person.

With sharp horns sprouting from his head, Jigen had awakened more than half of his peak power. For him, there should be no one left on this planet.

"Then let me ask you, why is your head so pointy?"

Looking at the promising and talented Jigen, Madara Uchiha was instantly stunned. You can get tattoos, but why are you doing physical modifications?

"Are you ready to die?"

Jigen gave an irrelevant answer, and the black rod in his hand instantly extended, stabbing hard into Uchiha Madara's chest.

"Thump!"

This time, the force sent him staggering back several steps, his chest heaving with blood, almost suffocating him.

After regaining his footing, Madara Uchiha's face did not show any fear; on the contrary, his fighting spirit was high.

"That's what makes it interesting."

Only enemies like these are worth going all out for.

"Bang!"

Madara Uchiha leaped forward and slammed his hammer at Jigen once more. Jigen, now in his second state, abandoned any thought of using his eye techniques to dodge; he was also very confident in his own power.

A mere indigenous person is no match for them.

"Bang! Bang! Hey!"

Two figures darted across the open space, their movements accompanied by the constant clanging of metal and the incessant sounds of their bodies colliding.

"strong enough!"

Madara Uchiha became more and more excited as the fight progressed, pushing his physical strength to the limit, and for a time he was not at a disadvantage in the struggle against Madara in his second form.

"What should we do? Should we help?"

On the other side of the battlefield, Number Seven, who had narrowly escaped death, had his wings regrow. He turned to look at Number Eight, whose clothes were slightly dirty, and couldn't help but ask a question.

"I"

"Help! Of course we'll help! The advantage is in our hands!"

Number Eight blinked, hesitated for a moment, and was about to speak when another voice interrupted him.

"You bastard, you still have the nerve to show your face?"

Upon hearing the familiar tone, Number Seven and Number Eight immediately turned around and saw Number One, who had somehow somehow gotten close to them. They were instantly furious.

This guy who deserted his post doesn't deserve to be a member of their Otherworldly Knights.

"Cough cough cough, that was a feint."

Upon hearing this, Number One paused, coughed a few times as if to make excuses for his desertion, and claimed that he had only lured the enemy into a trap.

"You're talking nonsense!"

Number Seven was furious; he had almost been cut in two by Madara Uchiha.

"Alright, Number Seven, let's talk about any grudges later. Let's go help out first."

The situation was tense, so Number Eight stepped in to mediate. Number One and Number Seven glared at each other fiercely and then fell silent.

"Let's do it!"

Seeing the two quiet down, Number Eight revealed a satisfied smile, waved his hand, and the three figures rushed towards Uchiha Madara once again.

"Tsk!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Madara Uchiha caught sight of the three heretical knights who had come to his aid. His face turned ashen. He had been evenly matched with the monk before him, but now the balance of power was about to be broken.

"call"

Cixian secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His current condition wasn't as good as he had imagined. After activating the Wedge state twice in a row, his body was about to reach its limit.

After this incident is resolved, we'll switch to a different container as a temporary measure; otherwise, the fruit will definitely not ripen.

"Bang!"

Knowing he could no longer engage in a prolonged fight with Jigen, Madara Uchiha deflected the black rods and swiftly retreated.

Just when everyone thought he was about to flee, Madara Uchiha did something that completely surprised everyone: he actually went towards the three clones.

"What does he want to do?"

Number One looked on with confusion as he saw Madara Uchiha walking right into his trap.

But the next moment, his expression of astonishment froze on his face. Madara Uchiha's face showed no trace of panic, but was instead filled with a bloodthirsty killing intent.

"not good!"

His brain raced for a second, and he guessed the other person's purpose. His running feet came to an abrupt halt.

Madara Uchiha wasn't running away; he wanted them dead.

Just because Number One's mind works fast doesn't mean the other two clones are as intelligent. Number Seven, still waving his wings with a smug look on his face, charged towards Uchiha Madara with the best score, completely unaware of his surging killing intent.

"Die!"

This time, they weren't so lucky. Number Seven was met with a deafening crash of a giant hammer.

"Bang!"

In the face of life and death, it was too late for Number Seven to repent. He could only grit his teeth and raise his short blade, trying to block the opponent's terrifying attack.

"Boom~boom~"

Even Number Three, known for its defensive prowess, couldn't withstand Madara Uchiha's Shipbreaker attack; Number Seven had even less chance. The thick, short blade lasted only a second before shattering into pieces.

"boom!"

The power of the shipbreaker was unstoppable; it not only shattered Number Seven's accompanying weapon but also smashed through his thick breastplate, pinning him firmly into the ground.

Seeing that Madara Uchiha had instantly killed Number Seven in the blink of an eye, Jigen's eyes widened in regret. He had let such a fine weapon be destroyed by the opponent's dying counterattack.

"Bang!"

Lifting the shipwrecked creature, Madara Uchiha flicked away the blood and gore clinging to the spikes and armor, his gaze falling on the mangled Number Seven. He then noticed that the creature's chest was still rising and falling slightly.

With the intention of finishing off Number Seven, he was just about to send him on his way when Jigen appeared. Madara Uchiha had no choice but to twist and dodge the rapidly shooting black rods, and swung out the Black Cutter in his hand.

"Whoosh~"

"Bang!"

Using his black staff to deflect the oncoming Black Cutter, Jigen's eyes were filled with rage. Madara Uchiha did not back down; instead, he leaped forward, gripping the Shipbreaker tightly with both hands, and his attack roared like thunder.

"Thump!"

The famous swordsman Kenpachi Zaraki once said,

Two hands are stronger than one hand.

Madara Uchiha, wielding the Shipbreaker with both hands, attacked with significantly greater force than before.

"hateful."

Jigen was finding it difficult to defend himself, so he used Sumina Bikona's ability to shrink himself again in order to avoid the opponent's attacks.

Seeing his opponent disappear once again, Madara Uchiha immediately leaped from his spot and charged towards Android 8, who was standing there watching in a daze.

You're really good at running, aren't you?

I refuse to believe they can escape.

Madara Uchiha viciously swung the shipbreaker at Number Eight, his face full of satisfaction. This was a strike he had poured all his strength into; even a tailed beast would have to be remade on the spot if it ate it.

It's easy to see from Jigen's behavior that these clones are crucial to him, and Madara Uchiha would naturally not let his enemies have their way.

"stop!"

Upon seeing this, Jigen realized this was outrageous. He couldn't let his painstakingly cultivated artifact go to waste like this. He immediately deactivated his shrinking form, his figure flashing like lightning. Just before Madara Uchiha could finish off Number Eight, he appeared in front of the shipbreaker.

"Boom!"

A violent explosion rang out, and Number Eight was thrown back by the shockwave, landing next to Number One. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that the thick armor on his chest had been shattered by the aftershocks, revealing a blood-soaked chest.

It is easy to imagine that the terror of this attack was far beyond what these clones could withstand.

As the smoke cleared, a large crater, tens of meters in diameter, appeared where the group had just stood. Uchiha Madara knelt on one knee, his hands soaked in blood, sliding down the handle of the shipbreaker.

Opposite him, Jigen, who had withstood the attack, was also in bad shape. The chakra rod in his hand had shattered into pieces, blood was seeping from his mouth uncontrollably, and an unhealthy pallor appeared on his usually aloof face.

He staggered to his feet, his body on the verge of collapse after taking a full-force blow from Madara Uchiha.

The only solution now is...

He turned his head, his icy gaze sweeping over the two clones standing at the edge of the battlefield. His gaze, chillingly fixed on the two, finally landed on Number Seven, who lay on the ground, barely breathing.

"Phew, not bad, I can barely manage to refine it." (End of Chapter)